Putting Back the Pieces
by Daricio
Summary: He doesn't talk to anyone. He doesn't look at us. I don't think he knows who he is. All he does is put puzzles together all day... A month after Yugi disappears from Domino, he is found and brought back home. But he has has lost his memories...


"He doesn't talk to people," a woman in her late thirties warned the man walking into the room. "We know that he knows how to, because he talks in his sleep, but he doesn't respond to anything anybody says, he won't look anyone in the eye, and he doesn't seem to remember anything about his life, not even his name. All he does is put those puzzles together all day."

The man waved a hand at her to get her to stop and continued his way across the room to where a 17-year-old boy was hard at work on a large, difficult jigsaw puzzle. The boy looked like he was deliberately ignoring the other occupants of the room as he fitted another piece into place.

"Hello," the man said, squatting down so that he was eye-level with the boy working on the floor. The boy didn't look up, but that didn't deter the man. "My name is Matt Grey. I'm here to help you get back home."

Now the boy glanced up briefly before he put another piece down where it belonged. Matt smiled at him. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

The woman, still standing by the door, made a scoffing sound, then turned and exited the room. She obviously didn't think he was going to get anywhere this way.

Matt ignored her, but the boy didn't respond to his question. Another piece fell into place on the floor before him.

A few seconds of silence passed, then Matt frowned. "What's your name? Where do you live? Who are your friends? What do you like to do?"

The boy's face darkened and he resolutely put four more pieces into place on the puzzle. Matt glanced down at it, startled to see that it was almost finished. "When did you start on this?" he asked.

The boy didn't answer, simply fitting more pieces in.

"Do you not remember that, either?" Matt frowned at him. The boy glared at him a moment, then went back to the puzzle. "Ok, so you do, you just don't want to talk to me. Do you not want to go home?"

The boy stopped what he was doing and closed his eyes, pain evident on his features. Slowly, he shook his head and put down the piece he had in his hand.

"You just don't remember where it is, so you don't think I can help you," Matt guessed.

He nodded, then busied himself with the puzzle again. Matt watched him for a while and soon the boy finished it. He stopped, seeming to be surprised that he was done, then he glanced around and pulled another box towards himself, dumped the pieces of the new puzzle out, and began to fit them together.

Matt decided to try another tactic. "Yugi..." he started.

The boy's eyes shot up to meet his in surprise and Matt blinked at the unspoken question in them. "When Mrs. Mavis told me that she had found a boy wandering around by himself, she gave me your description. You match the description of a boy named Yugi Moto, who disappeared about a month ago and who I've been looking for since then."

The boy, maybe Yugi, watched him as he assimilated this information. "Yugi," he said slowly.

Matt nodded, giving him a smile. "Sound familiar? According to the files, Yugi lives in a game shop with his grandfather. About a month ago, Yugi went to walk to his friend Jou's house, but he never got there. Nobody knows what happened."

The boy was silent, dropping his eyes back to the puzzle and thinking about this information. Matt decided to give one last try. "If you want, I can take you to the game shop, to see if anyone there recognizes you, or to see if you remember anything."

There was silence for a moment, then a slow nod. "Kay." The boy stood and headed for the door and Matt had to scramble to catch up with him.

"I'm taking him to his grandpa's house, to see if he'll remember anything," he called to the woman. She waved him out, giving her permission, but her eyes were on the boy, full of concern. He smiled at her, but said nothing, and together Matt and the boy went out to his car.

A long, silent car ride later, they arrived at the front of the Kame Game shop. Without saying a word, the boy got out of the car and went inside the shop, looking around almost disinterestedly. Matt gave him a bit of a head start, then followed after him, the ringing of the bell on the door sounding as he came in.

The boy was looking over several rows of cards in a case at the front of the store when the owner of the shop, an old man by the name of Sugoru Moto, came in. "Hello, how can I..." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the boy, who looked up at him curiously.

"Yugi?" Sugoru took a step closer and looked into the boy's eyes. "Yugi! It really is you!" He pulled him into a hug and started to sob. "We've been so worried!"

The boy looked distinctly uncomfortable, not sure what to do. He pulled away awkwardly from the old man, looking away as he did so. Sugoru didn't seem to notice, hurrying to the entrance of the shop, where there was a phone. "I'll call Jou and Anzu, right away, they'll want to know you're safe."

"No!" The boy's voice startled the old man, who looked back at him in worry. His call seemed to have startled even himself, and now he looked embarrassed. "I..."

"Mr. Moto, my name is Matt Grey, and I have something I need to inform you of." Matt stepped in before the situation could get worse.

Sugoru looked over at him, confused. "Mr. Grey? Ah, yes, you were the one leading the investigation, weren't you?"

Matt nodded. "Yes, but there are complications. You see, we found your grandson, but he appears to have amnesia. He was staying with one of the local foster parents, Mrs. Mavis, when we found him, but he didn't even know his own name until I told him."

The old man looked back at his grandson, who was staring at the floor. "Oh, Yugi!" He enveloped him in another hug. "So you still don't know what happened?"

"No. Yugi doesn't seem to have any recollection of the event, or any event."

But now the boy shook his head. "No. I remember puzzles and games. That makes more sense now, if I live in a game shop." He pulled away again and began to study the cards in the case again to give himself something to do.

For once, Sugoru didn't know what to say.

(Divider)

Yugi lay on the bed in the bedroom on the second story of the game shop and stared out the window. It had taken him a while, but his grandfather had finally convinced him that his name was indeed Yugi, though he himself couldn't ever remember being called that, or anything else.

He sighed, sitting up so that he could look around the room better. His grandpa had told him that he had made sure to leave his room exactly as it was when he had left, but that reassurance didn't make the place look any more familiar to him.

Slowly, he stood and went to the window, looking down at the alleyway below. From his window, he could see that there was a plant trellis attached to the side of the house, which looked as though it had been used as a ladder several times. He glanced at his door, then silently opened the window and began to climb down.

He knew that his grandpa would freak out if he knew, especially since it was while walking from this house to another that he had, supposedly, had his accident, but he had to get out of here and walk around for a while, if only to help settle his mind. He knew that he would come back. He needed to stay here to try and make his memory come back. But for now, he just needed a walk, to get away from his conflicting thoughts.

He reached the pavement and landed silently, looking around and beginning to walk. The night air was cool, but he was wearing a sweater; one that his grandpa had told him was his.

The buildings on either side of him passed by without his notice as he walked, not paying any attention to where he was going. His confused thoughts whirled around his head.

He only remembered things from maybe a month prior, and even some of those were foggy until about a week or so ago when that woman had found him wandering the streets. Everything before that seemed to be a blur of walking, hunger, a feeling of searching for something...

After she had taken him in, he had discovered a closet full of unfinished puzzles and had taken one out to relieve his boredom and to take his mind off his unknown past. He hadn't been able to stop working on it until he had it finished, finding a thrill of joy every time a piece slipped into place. It wasn't quite the same as...

Well, there was another, much more complicated puzzle he remembered putting together, some sort of 3D one, but it was a part of his foggy past, and memories of it, and the rest of his past, only seemed to surface when he was working on the puzzles.

So he had stopped talking to people, instead working relentlessly on the puzzles, trying to focus on remembering whatever it was the puzzles were calling up. Then that detective, or whoever he was, had brought him to the game shop, where he hoped those memories would surface in the same way there, but so far it didn't seem to be doing any good.

Yugi had asked his grandfather if he could have a puzzle to solve, to keep his mind busy before he slept, and the kindhearted old man had given him a small 3D one. It was with him now, half of it completed in one pocket and the rest of the pieces in another. He took out the part he had completed and held it in one hand while trying different pieces with the other, slowing his walk so he could concentrate on the puzzle and keep moving at the same time.

"Yugi? Is it really you?" Yugi almost dropped the puzzle at the voice and he glanced around before spotting a white-haired teenager heading towards him.

Yugi didn't know what to say as the boy approached, so he said nothing.

"Where have you been, Yugi?" the boy asked, looking concerned.

He bit his lip and just shrugged. "Walking," he said truthfully.

The boy looked him over, giving him a strange look. "Really. For a month?" Then he seemed to notice something. "Yugi, where's your puzzle?"

Yugi glanced down at the puzzle in his hands, confused. "My what?" he asked.

"Your Millennium Puzzle, Yugi." The boy looked suddenly worried. "You know, the big pendant you wear around your neck?"

A flash of gold stole across Yugi's mental vision as the 3D puzzle from before surfaced from the fog. He blinked, frowning. "Um... I, ah... I guess I lost it."

"You what?" The boy looked astonished. "To who? What happened?"

"I don't know." Yugi held his head in one hand. "Ah, listen. I know this is going to sound strange, but... Who are you?"

The boy's mouth dropped open. "It's me, Bakura. Ryou Bakura. Who'd you think I was?"

Yugi was silent for a moment. "Bakura... right... um, where do I know you from?"

Bakura gave him a wary look. "From school. I've been hanging out in your group of friends since I moved here a year or so ago, Yugi."

Now the look on Yugi's face was slightly pained. Here was one of his friends, worried about him, and he hadn't even known his name. Of course, he hadn't even known his own grandfather when he saw him, so he really shouldn't have been surprised. "I guess I have something to tell you then, Bakura. See, about a month ago, I-"

But his words were cut off by a deep chuckle coming from the darkness of a nearby alley. Now Yugi did drop the puzzle he was holding. It shattered into pieces as it hit the ground, but Yugi and Bakura had their attention fixed on the alleyway.

"Well, what do you know? The Pharaoh's little brat managed to come crawling home." An undefined figure stepped halfway out of the shadows.

Yugi glanced at his friend. "Do you know him?" he asked in a whisper. Bakura shook his head silently, his eyes wide.

"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Bakura demanded.

The man just laughed again, then spoke, "Why, I'm just a humble thief." He smirked at Bakura. "I'm sure you know the type."

Something underneath Bakura's shirt started to glow and his eyes narrowed dangerously. His hair spiked backwards in an unfelt wind. "What do you want?" he asked again, his voice rougher than it was before.

"Why, speak of the devil." He laughed once more. "Looks like the tomb robber wants to come out and play. All right then, I challenge you to a Shadow Game!"

Bakura smirked at him. "I accept your challenge, but without a Millennium Item, your chances of survival are minimal."

Yugi looked fearfully from one to the other. "What's going on?" he asked helplessly.

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him, and the man laughed again, pulling out a cardboard box and turned it upside down, causing a hundred golden pieces to scatter onto the ground. "That reminds me, little Pharaoh, you still owe me from before."

Yugi's eyes widened and he ran forward, scooping up the pieces. "My puzzle!" he cried, recognizing the pieces from within the fog of his mind.

"That's right, twerp. After our last encounter, you smashed it to pieces, even though you promised that if I won the game, you'd hand it over. Now put it back together, while the thief and I duel!" The man glared at him, then turned back to face Bakura, pulling out a large white machine, which he affixed to his arm.

"You beat the Pharaoh in an honest duel?" Bakura scoffed, donning a machine similar to the one the man had. "Somehow I doubt that."

The man laughed. "Even the Pharaoh couldn't stand up to my blade monsters, fool, and neither can you. I'll take you down piece by piece!"

Yugi was even more confused than before, especially when the two of them mentioned a Pharaoh, apparently referring to him, but he decided that it would be best not to ask any questions, as it would break Bakura's concentration.

The battle began, and Yugi was almost relieved to see that it was just a card game. Even when the monsters and cards appeared on the ground in front of them, which surprised Yugi greatly, he couldn't bring himself to be scared. He touched the edge of a large card on the ground near him, and his hand went right through it. It was an illusion of some sort, so nobody could get hurt. This was much better than getting beat up.

The game fascinated Yugi, but though some of Bakura's cards gave Yugi a strange sense of Déjà vu, he figured that since Bakura was his friend, they must have played the game together before. He wondered where his own deck was.

Now the golden pieces in his hands attracted his attention. They were so pretty, and so familiar... he wanted to put it together, to see what it looked like whole. He felt like he already knew how to do it, and his fingers were itching to start.

But by what that man had said, he himself had been the one to smash the puzzle in the first place. Putting it together would be playing right into his hands.

He put the pieces down and took a hold of two of them. Then, hesitating a moment, he fitted them together.

There was a shock, and an image played across his mind; He was sitting in his room, (It was his room!) at his desk, crying out in despair as he realized that the puzzle he had been working on for eight years had a single piece missing. It would never be whole. But then the old man (his _grandpa!_) came in and told him that his friend Jou (an image of messy blonde hair and a goofy grin came into his mind) had come by and given him the last piece. The puzzle was complete!

Then he was back in the alley, breathing heavily and staring at the pieces he had put together. Did the puzzle contain his memories? Excitedly, he reached for another piece and added it to the two others in his hand. There was another shock, and another vision.

Standing in a large room with three other teenagers. The blonde, Jou, a brunette girl (_Anzu!_), and a teen with brown hair pulled into a spike at the front (_Honda!_). The other three had their hands put together, and Yugi put his own hand forward to join them. Anzu took out a sharpie and drew a quick smiley face on their hands. "We'll be friends forever!"

He was in the alley again. He remembered his friends! His closest friends! He closed his eyes in joy, but then glanced up at Bakura, whose battle was still going on. He vaguely noticed purple shadows flitting around here and there, but his attention was on his friend's face. Why did he still not remember Bakura?

Only one thing to do. Put more pieces together. He reached for the pile. One by one, the pieces came together, both literally and figuratively, as Yugi's memories came slowly back to him.

_Flash!_ Discovering an ancient Pharaoh living in the puzzle. Distrust for the Pharaoh, but working with him anyway. _Flash!_ Defeating Kaiba at his Death T game. _Flash!_ Pegasus sealing his grandfather's soul in a videotape and sending him to go battle at Duelist Kingdom. _Flash!_ Facing off against Pegasus and finally befriending and working with the Pharaoh. _Flash!_ Starting Battle City to search for the Pharaoh's lost memories (how ironic!). _Flash!_ A dark game against Yami Bakura aboard an airborne blimp. _Flash!_ Battling against Kaiba, God Card versus God Card. _Flash!_ Shadow games with the dark side of Malik Ishtar.

Yugi gasped for breath. He remembered! He knew who he was, he knew what the Shadow Games were, and what was at stake for Bakura, battling against this man. He glanced up, and it hit him suddenly that the one that was currently dueling was actually Yami Bakura, the dark side of his friend. He was about to call out to him, but decided against it. He was dueling to protect his Millennium Item, and to get the Puzzle back for Yugi, so perhaps he wasn't entirely bad.

Granted, there were still holes in his memory, but he was pretty sure that Bakura could be trusted, at least for right now. He looked down at the puzzle in his hands to check on its completion. There were only three more pieces left to put in.

Quickly he fitted two of them in, leaving only the front piece with the Millennium Eye symbol on the front. Two more memories flashed across his mind, but he already knew most of their content by now anyway. The last piece would hold his latest memories, those of the Shadow Game he had had with this man. Hopefully, it would give him something that would help Bakura with his own duel.

The piece slid into place, bringing with it Yugi's complete memories, and the presence of the Pharaoh, who immediately called out to Yugi, asking him if he was all right.

Yugi sent him a distracted feeling of reassurance, then immersed himself in the memory, searching for something to help Bakura.

He soon found it.

"Bakura!" he called. Bakura glanced at him. "He's got a hidden locking spell on him, one that blocks out magical influences! If he uses it, you won't be able to come out, and the regular Bakura will be forced to handle it. That's how he got us! You have to disable the spell before he can use it!"

Bakura nodded, his Millennium Ring glowing fiercely. The man growled, reaching quickly into his coat pocket to retrieve his spell. "You little brat! I thought I blocked out those memories!"

Yugi just smirked as the man's spell was rendered useless before he could activate it. He sighed in relief, confident that the dark Bakura could now handle the thug. He began giving Yami an update on the situation.

'_Grandpa will be happy to know that I'm back to normal._' Yugi commented tiredly.

He felt mental arms wrap around him comfortingly. '_I'm glad too,_' Yami said with a smile. Yugi smiled back and drifted exhaustedly off to sleep, leaving Yami in control of his body.

The Shadow Game soon ended, with Bakura as the victor. Yami nodded at him. "Thank you for protecting my hikari," he said, a little too formally.

Yami Bakura just smirked at him. "You owe me, Pharaoh." He relinquished control to Bakura, who smiled politely and turned away.

"Perhaps we should get home before anyone else decides to attack us..." he said.

Yami nodded, and the two of them left.

Finally, things could go back to normal...

(Divider)

Okay, first off, don't expect any updates to this, cause it's over now. (sweatdrop) Seriously, this was just a random little plotbunny that refused to leave me alone, so I wrote it, and I'm done with it now.

Now I'll go back to working on rewriting Where's Yugi (and trying to come up with a new title for it!) and working on my next Egyptian Dances chapter.

Konbanwa, Minna-sama!

--Daricio


End file.
